Shaykh (Maulana) Hakeem Akhtar Saheb (RA) was born in a noble (middle class) household in the small town of Atheha (UP, India) in the district of Pratapgarh in 1928. The name of his father was Muhammad Hussain (RA) and he was a civil servant. He was the only son of his father with 2 daughters so his father loved him immensely.

Effects of Jazb from childhood:

The effects and signs of Jazb were evident on Shaykh (RA) from very early childhood. His older Sister who was herself a child used to carry him (RA) in her lap to be blown by Imam (Hafiz) Abul-Barakat (RA) who was a Khaleefa of Shaykh (Maulana) Ashraf Ali Thanwi (RA). Shaykh (RA) that even at such a young age the walls, boundaries and even the dust of the Mosque was…

I have just been so busy with work and school that I find very little time to make phone calls, so most of my correspondence is through emails. So This morning I woke up and went to the madrasah to teach as I do any other day. I received a message from my Shaykh’s (DB) son, that said Hazratwala (DB) was remembering you and asking about you. Unfortunately I was busy in the madrasah and was unable to speak to him then and there and I quickly replied back that I will call later that evening. Being on opposite ends of the world means waiting the whole day to make that one phone call that would last about ten to fifteen minutes maximum, however, this feeling of anticipation had overtaken me and I could not wait for those twelve hours to go by. Finally I was able to call and speak to my Shaykh (DB). I do not recall ever having such fluid conversations with anyone as I have with my Shaykh (DB).

So one may ask, “What’s the point of all of this?” I would say that is a valid point and a good question. One may ask, “What does that have to do with the title?” I would reply that is a good question also. The reason I bring this up is to highlight the fact that our Mashaayikh are so kind and caring that if we remain absent for a bit, they will not abandon us. Normally it is the mureed that yearns to meet the shaykh, and I know that anyone that is a mureed yearns to meet their shaykh as I also do, but it takes one to another world when the shaykh says that he yearns to meet the mureed. The reality is that the mashaayikh have no real need to meet with the likes of us, but it is their kindness and care that recharge our batteries, which keep us going good for a long time. Although we do not deserve their kindness and karam, but when the Ahlullah take karam from the unlimited supply of the Kareem, they serve it wholesale to the creation. If we can just pick up the akhlaaq of the Ahlullah, we would be set for this life and the next. I pray to Allah that He allows us to instill within ourselves the kindness and character of the Ahlullah. Aameen.

The honor, greatness and love for the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) are deeply entrenched in the heart of every Muslim and are the core of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) and every Prophet of Allah is sinless. They are sent as guides for mankind and direct the people to the Oneness of Allah and His obedience. The Prophets of Allah possess the highest level of knowledge of Allah. They also possess the highest level of spirituality and sound character. Every Prophet of Allah condemned disrespect and violence. In Islam, we revere every Prophet of Allah and we do not tolerate any disrespect to any of them.

There are three components in the posting online or anywhere of the depictions against the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam): a) The image of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam); b) disrespect/Defamation of his character and personality; c) The issue with the use/abuse of freedom of expression.

Overall, Islam forbids making pictures of animate objects. One of the reasons for the prohibition of making and taking pictures of animate objects is that it distracts worshippers from the worship of Allah and can ultimately lead to idolatry. Specifically, in Islam, there are no pictures of prophets, or saintly people. Any alleged depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) is conjecture and invention by those who want to stir sensation and falsity.

The second component of the cartoons is the disrespect and defamation towards the lofty character of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). This has caused great pain and anger to every Muslim around the world. Every Muslim has a right to assert his/her love for the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) whom Allah sent as the final messenger to humanity, as mentioned in the Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text.

Third, freedom of expression is not an absolute. It has overarching principles. If freedom of expression is absolute, then freedom of religion in a democratic dispensation should also be absolute. Why does freedom of religion have overarching principles? Why are Muslims not allowed to fully practice on every aspect of Islam without any restriction whatsoever? The reason is obvious. The rights of others living as equal citizens must be considered. What then about freedom of expression and right of dignity and religious honor? Freedom of expression has nothing to do with defaming Allah or His Messengers or the religious practices of societies. Such practices are no longer under the sphere of freedom of expression, but are simply campaigns to malign a faith, which serves dark agendas that breed hate, fear and ruin.

In the midst of this, we turn unto Allah, the Guide, to enlighten people about the noble prophets, who are the teachers of humanity. We have firm faith that falsity always perishes before the truth. Any vilification against prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) is bound to be met with more interest and curiosity by honest and open-minded people about the reality of this man whom Allah proclaimed as a “mercy to the worlds” (Qur’an 21:107).

My beloved Shaykh (RA) mentioned about 9 years ago when the Denmark issue occurred, “When the world wants to boycott this country or these products for their wrongs, then that is in its own place. However, if you really want to make a mark, if you really want to send out a message to people, then abandon sin! More so, follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) as much as possible. These evil people are trying to get us to be negligent of Allah and His Messenger (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). They want to see us spend our time in marches and whatnot. The thing that will really burn baatil (falsehood) is looking like Rasulullah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), acting like him, talking like him. If each Muslim emulates the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) in each and every aspect of life, then who will have the capacity to ridicule or even have the courage to mock nearly 2 billion people?! Let’s not be negative and reactive in useless pursuits of begging the kuffar, “O do not mock the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam).” all the while we ourselves as Muslims are hanging by a thread in following the Sunnah. We should feel remorse and feel ashamed of ourselves. Had we been strong to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), then no one would dare to try such foolish acts.”

I pray to Allah that He gives us all the ability uphold our honor and our pride-the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). Aameen!

We get sidetracked by various situations that we come across; either in our lives or the lives of other people. Society might tell us that we should be worried and concerned about so and so and this and that, but that concern should come from people whom themselves are stable. When a person is not stable them self, they don’t know where they are, then worrying about some other person seemingly may look good, but in reality it is just confusing a person more and more. We are looking for the answers in the wrong place. That is one of the biggest problems that a lot of us have; we look for answers in the wrong place when they are right in front of our face. Everything is right there for us to get to our destination, to get our issues taken care of, to get our questions answered, and to get our problems resolved. It is so simple, but because we have no foundation or base to build upon, then everything else looks attractive to us.

When a person initially begins to focus more on their Islamic progress, then immediately the fundamentals and basics, remain fundamentals and basics, which is why we lose sight of them and try to go into things that are more “advanced” apparently. That happens to beginners often, and beginners need to understand that, it is not their place. The place of a beginner is the beginning. The place of a person who is sort of in the middle is in the middle. One can never forget the beginning and needs to make sure to keep doing those initial steps to maintain the middle. That person who is towards the end needs to make sure that they are doing everything from A to B to C, all the way to Z and everything in between to ensure they stay at that level. Otherwise they will fall. It is like Snakes and Ladders where eventually a person will move up, and there will be something that will bring them down. However, if they come down, they just have to move on. So if someone has ever “landed on a snake”, then the way to solve that situation is to sincerely repent, and say “Ya Allah, I am stupid, and I am an idiot. I should never have done this. Please give me the ability and strength to refrain from these things so that I can move on with my life.”

Our problem is that when we initially start treading the path towards pleasing Allah, we need to be like a snake that sheds its skin. We need to let go of every negative association we had in the past and just focus on ourselves for a while until we reach a point where those harmful associations become harmless. Afterwards, we can advance to being that person that is unaffected by impropriety of others. We will be the person who can turn the flow of the river. For example, if there are 10 people and 9 of them are punctual with their prayers while one of them is not, when the 9 get up to pray, the one who is not punctual will still get up and go pray with the others. The opposite is also true though. Hopefully we can reach a stage where if we are in a similar situation, we can be the one person unaffected by those other nine people, and get up and not only pray ourselves but motivate the other nine people to pray too. But this level is not achieved overnight so we should not assume we have attained this stage right away.

So we need to solidify and reinforce our foundations and basics in order to progress and maintain our position on the board-game of life. It is really simple to play. The Quran, Sunnah, and methodology of our pious predecessors is the manual. We move forward by doing what we have told to do and avoiding whatever we have been told to avoid. There are certain things which act as a “ladder” allowing us to get closer to Allah quickly. There are also “snakes” in the form of sins that significantly distance us from the proximity of Allah. Everyone has to figure out exactly where they are on the board, and with the guidance and assistance of an expert at the game, we can learn to land on the ladders and avoid landing on the snakes. Our experts have been getting help from those whom they considered as experts, and their experts before them, and so on, all the way back to the blessed companions (RA) that were guided by the Expert of all the experts (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam).